I have one that I bought from a board member a few months back. With the Pachmayer "compac" grips it is not bad at all to shoot with .357's. In fact, the last time out my sons girlfriend came with us (about 117lbs) and she really got a kick out of shooting it (no pun intended, really). It's a lot more fun to shoot than most will let on. I hear guys tell of not being able to fire more than a couple rounds because of the pain. I know a 117lb girl who thought that was funny as hell. Admittedly, I do have the Pac grips which add some cushion but they take up very little extra space. When I carry I load the first four as +p's and the last shot a full house 158gr HP. My main reason for picking it over a +p only is the "ability" to also fire .357 mag. Who knows what the future's going to bring and having that ability could mean the difference between a loaded or an empty gun. Sorry for the really big picture.